YORK — The home where kidnapping suspect Ummad Rushdi lived in an upper-class Windsor Township neighborhood was the scene of frequent police activity for several years, from FBI raids to a domestic assault to his ultimate arrest.

Most recently, detectives descended on the home in the 900 block of Castle Pond Drive to search for the body of baby Hamza Ali, whom Upper Darby police believe Rushdi kidnapped Aug. 4.

After searching several locations, police concluded Rushdi buried the baby’s body somewhere in York County.

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Following Rushdi’s arrest, Upper Darby Police Supt. Michael Chitwood said that the home — owned by Rushdi’s father, Waheed Rushdi — had been raided by federal agents several times.

“I can tell you this, that the FBI has raided that house on three occasions since 2005,” Chitwood said.

He said the reason for the raids was for alleged “political activity” or “political views” by Ummad Rushdi, 30, and his brother, Jawwad Rushdi, 32.

Chitwood, whose jurisdiction includes the home where the kidnapping allegedly took place, said police heard of the raids from several tenants at the house who were there when the raids occurred.

In a Philly.com story posted Aug. 11, Edward J. Hanko, the special agent in charge of the bureau’s Philadelphia division, confirmed that Ummad Rushdi had been on an FBI terrorist watchlist.

York Area Regional Police Sgt. Jeff Dunbar said police have been to the Windsor Township home seven times, including for the kidnapping incident, since 2008.

— In May 2013, police were called for a report of a suspicious person at the home. There was no arrest, and police determined the subject of the call was a friend who was renting a room at the house.

— In December 2012, U.S. Marshals served a warrant at the house. Tony Nelson, assistant deputy chief of the U.S. Marshals’ Middle District, said “I can confirm that a subject was arrested at that residence, but it was Jawwad (Rushdi, Ummad’s brother.)” Nelson said the U.S. Marshals were assisting York Area Regional police with the warrant. Nelson did not know what the warrant was for, nor did he know why the U.S. Marshals were asked to assist. Dunbar didn’t have specifics of the case.

— On Jan. 28, 2012, Ummad Rushdi punched his brother, Jawwad, in the face a few times during an argument, police said. In the citation, police listed Jawwad Rushdi and two others who also lived at the house as witnesses. Ummad Rushdi was charged with harassment and found guilty after a hearing, according to District Judge John Fishel.

— In January 2011, police were called for a report of runaways at the Rushdi residence. Dunbar said the two juveniles were located at the house.

— In May 2009, police went to the Rushdi residence to serve a warrant on Ummad Rushdi. Dunbar said he didn’t know what the warrant was for and that Rushdi was not home when police arrived.

— In November 2008, police went to the home because the Rushdis had a problem with one of their renters. There was no indication in the police report whether there was an arrest or if any citations were issued, Dunbar said.

In addition, at a meeting Monday, Windsor Township officials told residents they have issued a property violation notice to Waheed Rushdi , the brothers’ father who owns the home, for allegedly violating a township ordinance that allows up to three unrelated individuals to live in a home and stipulates the homeowner does not receive income from them.

The ordinance was changed in January because of complaints against the Rushdi residence and other properties. Waheed Rushdi could not be reached for comment.

Since police charged Ummad Rushdi with the kidnapping Aug. 7, residents in the neighborhood have expressed anger and frustration at the numerous incidents prompting police visits at the home over the years, and also a perceived lack of enforcement in response to those incidents.

Just after a news conference held at the home Aug. 15, resident Charles Snyder said the house has been a concern among neighbors for some time. He wondered about the level of awareness local law enforcement had over the years.

“The police raided this place, the FBI raided this place,” he said.

At the Windsor Township supervisors meeting Monday, Frank Warner, who lives across from the Rushdi home on Castle Pond Drive, said officers have visited the home numerous times and that he and his wife were interviewed by law enforcement about the family.

“I’ve been watching this for 12 years disintegrate into what it is. ... You have done nothing,” he said to the township supervisors.

York Area Regional Police Chief Thomas Gross, whose department patrols Windsor Township, said in an interview he was not going to divulge discussions that might have happened between his officers and the FBI about the raids.

“Our level of cooperation with the FBI is excellent,” he said. “We had received the information we needed to receive from them.”

Gross stressed that police take their jobs seriously, but they can’t arrest someone simply on complaints from the public.

“Investigations take place, sometimes they result in an action, sometimes they don’t,” he said. “We don’t just arbitrarily detain people, or arrest people.”

As for residents expressing alarm over FBI raids in their neighborhood, he said, “I’m alarmed ... That there’s a baby missing.”

York County District Attorney Tom Kearney said Wednesday he was not aware of any federal investigations involving the Windsor Township home or Ummad Rushdi since he took office in January 2010.

“I haven’t even seen any search warrants connected with the raids ... I don’t know what they’re looking for,” he said. “I personally have never had contact with the feds ... about these issues.”

It’s a fact that Kearney does not find unusual, he said. Federal agents often operate independently of other agencies, and what they do is not really in his realm of operation.

“How much supervision should I be doing of someone who’s, number one, not committed a crime, and number two, (not) violated the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?” he said.

If he had received any correspondence from federal agents concerning alleged terrorist activity, “I would’ve forwarded it along to the local police,” he said.

The FBI would not comment on its investigations.

But Jonathan T. Gilliam, a former Navy SEAL, air marshal and FBI agent, said that maintaining secrecy in a case, especially a terrorism investigation, is paramount.

That means federal agents should not put any perceived needs of local law enforcement or the public above the primary objective: To get the bad guys.

Because local law enforcement is so entrenched in their communities, there is a risk that a target might know someone on the force, Gilliam said.

“It’s almost like sending an email ... you can’t undo it,” he said.

The public has no constitutional right to know about investigations in their neighborhoods, he said.

“From a security standpoint, you can’t go around appeasing the neighbors -- you don’t know who knows that (bad) guy,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that we live in a world where we have to do secret operations next door, and it makes people feel uncomfortable.”

Terrorism cases are matters of national security, Gilliam said.

“In terrorism cases, a lot of times, there’s no contact outside of that squad” investigating the case, he said. “They keep it very secret.”

Gilliam said it is normal for federal agents not to communicate with local law enforcement before conducting a raid. If they do, it is done as the raid is about to take place, he said.

“The motivation in not telling the locals when you roll up on a place is never because you think they’re inept,” he said. “When it comes to running cases, the two groups (federal and local) are so good at working together, the respect on the street is there.”

Also, anything terrorism-related comes under the Joint Terrorism Task Force, on which local law enforcement representatives sit.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s website, the task forces are small groups of highly trained, locally based, law enforcement and intelligence experts, overseen by the DOJ and FBI.